Traveling bag



F. J. SULLIVAN TRAVELING BAG Dec. 2l, 1937.

`Filed June e, 19521 2 sheets-sheet 1 .A lill/111111111.-

1N VENTOR.

ATTORNEY@ Dec. 21, 1937. F. J. SULLIVAN TRAVELING BAG 2 sheets-sheet '2Filed June 6, 1934.

' i INVENTOR.

@ZM/MM' BY W,

ATTORNEY-- Patented Dec. 21, 1937 TRAVLING BAG Frank J. Sullivan,Oshkosh, Wis.y Application June 6, 1934, Vserial No. 729,168

2 claims. (cino- 41) The present invention relates to improvements inthe construction and operation of garment loading fixtures for travelingbags, and more especially for carriers of the Gladstone type, whereinthe closure sections may be swung into substantial end-to-end alinementwhen the case is opened.

An object of the invention is to provide an irnproved garment loadingxture for carrier cases,

which is simple and compact in construction, and which moreover, highlyeffective ineus'e. i

It has heretofore been proposed to apply various types of garmentloading fixtures to the interiors, and especially within the coversections, of luggage carriers of the type wherein the cover-is of lessdepth than the mainsection andis swingable into substantially verticalposition withrespect to the horizontal main section when the case isopen. When but limited head room is available, it is dicult to load andto unload this prior type of luggage carrier, it being far more desir- Yable under such conditions, to be able to swing the closure sectionsinto substantially end-to-end, horizontal alinement when the case isopen, as with an ordinary suitcase or Gladstone bag.

It is therefore a more specific object of the presy ent invention toprovide an improved garment loading iixture which is eiectivelycooperable with an ordinary traveling bag of the type wherein theclosure sections are of substantially eequal depth and maybe swung openso as to occupy minimum head room, and which may be conveniently loadedand unloaded.

Another speciiic object of the invention -insito garments within atraveling case, which may be readily applied to standard'carriers ofvarious types. Y i Still another specic object of the inventionis toprovide improved mechanism -for vpermitting removable attachment `of agarment hanger :or

the like, to a support such as a garment folding frame.

A further specific object of the invention ls .to provide a garmentfolding and suppor-tingvstructure which is rigid and strong inconstruction, -Y which may be readily manipulated, and which may bemanufactured at minimum cost.

These and other objects and advantages of e' the invention and adaptedfor `cooperation with L anddot-and-dash lines; 1^)

in g, and of a fragment of the Suitcase.;

closed suitcase, showing lthe iframe 'with four Y' both mens and ladiesgarments, maybe had *by referring to the drawings ac'cornp'anylngV and iforming a part of ythis vspecincation, in which like referencecharacters designate the same or similar parts in the various views', f:I

Fig. 1 is a' perspective View of an ordinary'suitcase in open position,with one of vtheirrfprove'd Vfolding frames positioned preparatory toloa-ding, and showing a single coat andY trouser hanger associated withth'eframe; e Figpg2 is a vertical section thru the openfsuitcase ofFig.. l, taken on the line 2-2 and showing thev folding frame withY twohangers associated therewith, in several operative positionsjln full'-Fig. 3 is a similar vertical' .section thru theA clo'sed suitcase,showing the'frameiwlthtwo hangers Ahoused withinone section of vthecase;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of ythepi'voted.franle`n1ountin`g,y of theV hangenmounti Fig. sis a simiianyenlarged emi iew oft'ne improved-garment hanger mounting portion 'ofVVthe `iiXture;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the suit-'ease.inf/ T 'Y f openposition, with one of theajimproveeraiding frames positioned Apreparatory V'to VVVlria'din'g, yand showing a single ladies garmenthanger'in'the Y'form of a straight bar .associated with 'the frame;

Vliig. '7 Ais a vertical section tli-ufthe operiV suitcase of Figi 6,takenfon the line 1 1, and 'show u ing the folding frame with fourhanger -'bars associated therewith, Vin Vseveral operative posi,-

. `tions in full and dot-and-dash lines; and provide an improved fixturefor storing ,folded `iEg. 8 is. asimilar vertical section thru the 35hanger bars housed .within one section of the Cases the invention hasbeen 'shown 'and "'d'e.- scribed ,herein ,as being specifically` appliedftd-H, an ordinary Gladstone typeio'f 'traveling bag, it is not ldesiredto restrict the scope'by suchl specific showing since someof theimproved features are V obviously more generally applicable.

Vliteferiring to the drawings, the traveling bag 4 shown therein,-andtowhich the 'improved fixtures o yhaverlneen applied, comprises inVgeneral Va ypair Y of leather closure sections Il), H of approximatelykthe .same size and depth, these sectionsv being Apivotallvconnected bya hinge.rl.2 and being ,5

o .adapted to beswung open, as shown `in Figs, 1, 2, Y

' `6,and 7, and vto be closed, asV shown .infFigs3 and 8. VThe hinge-I2.is/part ofY a metal .frame p consisting of a partiel@ secured toltheclosuresec-V `tion l0, anda .partl I4 Ysecured tothe section, Lf

garment hangers 23 detachably secured to supthe latter frame part I4being adapted to overlap the part I3 when the bag is closed andproviding a support forthe carrier handle I5. The portions of the frameparts I3, `I4 adjacent to the handle I are provided with a latch I6 Vofusual construction, and the interiors of the sections I9, II aresegregated from each other by a flap I1 which is pivotally attached tothe frame part I4 near the hinge I2 and the edges of which arecooperable with flanges I8 formed integral with the frame parts andextending inwardly, as shown.

The improved mens garment folding and conning xture specifically shownin Figs. 1-5 inclusive, comprises generally a metal U-shaped frame I9,the inner ends 2li of the side bars of which are bent as shown and areswingably connected to brackets 2l secured to the frame part I3,.and thecross rod of which has a garment folding rod 22 secured thereto; and oneor more porting plates 24 attached to the offset frame ends 29. .Thespecial bent formation of the inner frame ends 20, besidesprovidingclearance for a plurality of garment hangers and for thegarments associated therewith when the frame I9 is swung into loadingposition, also causes the hanger supporting plates 24 to be carriedasnear as possible to the hinged side of thersection I9 4when the frame isdisposed within this section,

thereby permitting the loading of garments of maximum lengthwithout.,excessive folding thereoff As previously indicated, thebrackets 2| are YYrigidly attached to the frame part i3 either at oneend or at the sides, and have slots 25 with which the pivots 26 oftheYframe I9 are'both rotatably and slidably cooperable in order to permitrelatively thick'garments 21 tobe applied to the hangers 23 and foldedwithin the section I0 folding rod 22 is preferably rounded in order toeliminate sharp creasing of the garments. The supporting plates 24 areof special construction, as shown in detail in Figs. 4 and 5, eachfplate 24 being provided with several notches 28 adapted to directlyreceive the headed ends 29 of the hangers 23. A resilient confiningplate 30 cooperates with each or the supporting plates 24 in the mannershown in Fig. 5 to frictionally and pivotally conne the substantiallyspherical hanger ends 29 within the notches 28 and to provide a snapaction during insertion and removal of the hangers 23. The plates 24, 39are of uniform Width thru-out their lengths in order tol insure the sameclamping effect on all garment hangers and4 maybe attached to the bentends 20 of the loading and folding frame I9 by riveting or welding,being disposed at an angle to the `plane of the frame I9 in order toprovide proper clearance for the superimposed or adjacent hangers 23.Aside from the headed pivot ends 29, the hangers 23 are of relativelywell-known construction, comprising a transverse upper bar 3l, to theopposite ends of which the pivot ends I 29 are directly attached, a coathanger portion in the plates 24; and a complete garment loading iixturemay also be mounted inthe other closure the thick garment 21.

again comprises a metal U-shaped frame I9 having bent pivot ends 20swingably connected to' brackets 2i; supporting plates 24 attached tothe bent ends 20 of the frame I9; and garment hanger bars 23 yremovablyassociated with the notches 28 of the plates 24 by means of headedends'- 29', in the manner previously described. The garment hanger barsare preferably formed of metal, and as many of these bars may beprovided as there are sets of notches 28 provided in the supportingplates 29. k1It is also to be observed that the hanger bars 23' areinterchangeable with the hangers'23, so that either or both of thesetypes of garment hangers may be associated with a common supportingframe, at the will of the user.

Since the mode of use of the mens and ladies traveling bags, and theimproved iixtures, are generally similar, it will suffice to describespecically the mode of use of the mens case. When itisV desired to loadthe improved traveling bag with garments, ,the individual garments 21may rst be folded over a hanger 23 in an obvious manner, after which theheaded ends 29 of this hanger Vmay be inserted within the notches 28 ofthe side plates 2e, while the frame'iS is disposed in the position shownin Fig. '1. Such insertion ofthe Yheaded ends 29 of the hanger 23 willresu'lt in subsequent frictional retention of the hanger ends 29 withinthe notches 28 by the resilient plate 39, in the manner illustrated in5. The garment folding frame I9 may then be swung upwardly about itspivots 29 to cause the garment 21, coacting with the hanger 23, to befolded about the folding bar 22. Continued swinging ofthe frame I9 aboutits pivots 26 will eventually cause the same to enter the closure Ysection III and to conceal the garment 21, as well as the fixture,within this closure section I9.

When the fixture has been thus swung within its carrier section, thenotched plates 24 vwill be carried into close proximity with theadjacent wall of the section I0 by virtue of the bent end 20 of theframe I9. If the garment 21 is relatively thick, and tends to crowdagainst the adjacent Awall of the section I9, the pivots 2G will slidealong the slots 25 and will thus accommodate The bent portions 29 of thesides of the frame I9 Valso permit pivoting of this frame within theflange I8 of the section I9 and subsequent swinging of the frame I9 thruan arc of substantially one hundred and eighty degrees, withoutinterfering with the flange. The inclination of the notched plates 24will also provide proper clearance when a` plurality of hangers 23 areutilized, andthe division flap I1 between the sections I9, II preventsthe frame I9 from swinging beyond horizontal position and into thesectionY I I. When the fixture has been conincd within the section I0,the closure section 'Ii `is freely accessible for packing or unpacking,and the bag may-be readily closed, as shown in Fig. 3,

section II, if so desired. VTheV formation of the f for subsequenttransportation. If so desired, a

second garment carrying fixture may be applied Within the closuresection Il, and any number of notches may be provided in the side plates24 to thereby permit folding and storage of any desired number ofgarments. The frame I9 is swingable thru an arc of substantially onehundred and eighty degrees and may, if desired, be completely removedfrom its carrier section I0, when the hangers 23 are removed, by merelydisi torting the sides of the frame sumciently to withdraw the pivots 26from Within the slots 25. The resiliency of the side members of theframe I9 will ordinarily suice to maintain the pivots 26 Within theslots 25, While still permitting complete removal of the frame in themanner indicated.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the inventionprovides simple, compact, and readily manipulable garment folding andstorage means, which may be applied to any standard suitcase. By virtueof the fact that the sections l0, Il are swingable into substantiallyhorizontal, end-to-end alinement when the bag is open, loading andunloading may be readily effected with minimum head room. The im- .'1proved fixture may obviously be applied to any standard suitcase, andthe hangers 23, 23 are interchangeable with each other, thus permittingthe use of either or both types of these hangers with a common foldingframe I9. The

l'i bent portions 20 of the frame I9 facilitate loading of thickgarments such as coats having fur collars, and also enable packing of amaximum number of garments in minimum space Without subjecting thehangers to excessive stress. The

x same type of detachable snap connection as is provided herein for thehangers 23, may also be applied between the frame ends and the brackets2! in order to facilitate bodily removal ofthe frame I9 and the hangerscarried thereby. The improved fixture has proven highly successful andpractical in commercial use and can be manufactured and applied atrelatively low cost.

It should be understood that it is not desiredV to limit the inventionto the exact details of construction and to the precise mode of useherein shown and described, for various modifications within the scopeof the claims mayoccur to persons skilled in the art.

It is claimed and desired to Patent:

1. A traveling bag, comprising, hingedly connected sections swingableinto end-toend alinesecure by Letters ment, a garment folding framehaving side arms provided with reversely bent ends and atransverse barrigidly interconnecting the opposite arm ends, brackets secured to oneof said sections adjacent the hinge connection thereof and meanspivotally supporting said bent framearm ends' on said brackets, the bentends of said frameV arms being formed to clear the hinged walls of saidsections and to position said bent arm portions a considerable distanceabove the upper ends of .said Walls when the bag is Wide open and saidframe has been swung over the other section in which positionV thereverse bend Venables Ythe side arms to lie parallel With said othersection,

and one or more garment hangers attachable di rectly to said bent armportions remote from saidbar.

2. A traveling bag, comprising, hingedlycon- L.;

nected sections swingable into end-to-end alinethe bent end portion ofeach of saidrframe arms,V

the bent ends of said'frame arms being formed to clear the hinged wallso-f said sections and to position said plates a considerable distanceabove the upper ends of saidV Walls when the bag is wide open and saidframe has been swung overY the other section in which position thereverse bend enables the side arms to lie parallel withv said othersection, and one orV more garment hangers attachable directly to saidbent armrpor-Y tions through said supporting plates. i FRANK VJ. fSULLIVAN. y

